The present invention relates and details the unexpected discovery that potassium functions as an appetite suppressant, and that certain potassium compound compositions have been found suitable for employment as such when prepared in the liquid dissolved and diluted state in preferred and alternate formulation embodiment versions and used by the method hereof in solute form for human oral ingestion, wherein both the substance and method of employment are for purposes of accomplishing the physiological elimination or substantial reduction of hunger pang sensations and thereby aid in repressing between-meal impulsive eating and appetite suppression at times of normal and habitual meal taking.
It is known that the potassium cation role and importance in intracellular fluids as an ion exchange medium in effecting essential physiological processes such as the transmission of nerve impulses is of fundamental importance, the need for which is in turn essential in maintaining human health. In the foregoing respect, potassium based formulations with additive components in solution form have been employed to beneficial advantage as electrolyte drink substances used for rapid effect replentishing of water and essential electrolyte constituents lost from human body fluids during periods of sustained physical activity, an exemplary teaching of which substance is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,407 to Ko dated Mar. 30, 1982, for a potassium chloride component compounding that is reconstituted with water to provide an electrolyte drink of the type described.
Other disclosures which teach the bioactive electrolyte properties of potassium chloride component compounds are respectively set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,814 to Hand et al dated May 15, 1979, therein disclosing a therapeutic chewing gum containing both sodium chloride and potassium chloride which when orally utilized functions to maintain body fluid saline solution content at an electrolyte level at which ingested fluids are optimally assimilated into the blood stream, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,684 to Kahm dated Aug. 16, 1977, disclosing a dietetic beverage comprising an aqueous solution of sugar with both sodium and potassium chloride and flavor enhancing free citric acid to be taken for supplementing sugar and essential salts that are depleted during engagement in vigorous physical activity.
Even though potassium is an essential and necessary element for proper and balanced human organism bioactive functioning, it is nonetheless known that in the salt compound forms thereof, and in particular as that of potassium chloride which in general is the most convenient and available and economical potassium salt for pharmaceutical uses, it is capable of causing and creating certain gastro-intestinal side effect problems characteristically associated with the oral ingestive employment of potassium compound salts including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or gastric and intestinal ulceration. There are, however, various ways in which to avoid or minimize the detrimental side effect problems above-noted the simplest of which is to administer potassium compound salt on a sparing schedule only as needed in the minimum dose necessary to effect the desired physiological response and to administer that minimum effective dose amount in a liquid dissolved and diluted form to thereby further avoid high concentration direct contact exposure of the gastro-intestinal walls to a potassium compound tablet or loose powder administered dose which tends to create a site of gastrointestinal mucosa lining irritation due to the localized contact exposure thereof to a high concentration dissolving point of the potassium compound or salt solids.
Another way to enhance the safe pharmaceutical uses of orally ingested potassium salts is to buffer the formulation with other components which do not interfere with the potassium bioactive function but do neutralize the irritating effects thereof such as made known in that teaching for potassium replacement therapy set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,791 to Zaffaroni et al dated Oct. 5, 1982, therein disclosing the mixing of salicylic acid with potassium chloride to provide a potassium compound substance for oral ingestive use which avoids the gastro-intestinal problems such as ulceration otherwise associated with the use of potassium chloride. Another such teaching is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,323 to Ranucci dated Mar. 31, 1981, therein disclosing an oral ingestive water-in-oil emulsion of potassium chloride solution which minimizes the potential intestinal irritation problems and also efficiently masks the otherwise objectionable potassium chloride saline taste.
In the foregoing regard, potassium salt taste problems may also be covered or reduced by the employment to good advantage of various sour fruit flavors, such as the inclusion of a citric acid component as in the Kahm teaching cited supra.
The instant invention for an orally ingested liquid dissolved and diluted potassium compound appetite suppressant, which may in the formulations thereof include various optional ingredients in addition to sour fruit flavoring additives or alternately sweeteners as flavoring agents, such as for example color additives and the like, has by experiment been found to produce the appetite satient effect as an apparent consequence of the bioactive physiological function of that available potassium in the dose amounts administered by the method specified, and while it is not presently known how or why the potassium compound solutions of instant invention yield the desired appetite suppressant result, and although some of the formulations of instant invention are somewhat similar in the component constituents and content thereof to some of those potassium compound based formulations as recited in certain of the prior art teachings noted for use either as electrolyte beverages or in potassium therapy procedures, the instant invention is distinguishable from said earlier teachings in one or more ways in that the present invention has new and useful advantages, applications, and improvements in the art and method of appetite suppression procedure and technique not heretofore known.